What You Can Expect

My approach in therapy is based upon the Circle of Courage, a unique model acknowledging the four basic needs all people have, regardless of age.

Belonging: Seeking to understand the degree to which a person feels like they belong is crucial. All of us need to feel part of a family, a group of friends and colleagues, or just that we have an important role to play in our world.

Independence: Potentially the most divisive need held by children and youth alike. We all need to feel not just free to make choices, but that we are trusted to make decisions that impact us by those around us.

Mastery: Young people all enjoy doing what they are good at. Everyone has a skill (and probably several!) that others will value in them, and that may be worth developing now and into the future. Mastery is the key to building confidence, purpose, and satisfaction with one’s vision for life.

Generosity: Looking forward to making positive contributions to the lives of others is the heart of what generosity is about. This need is often the last to be acknowledged in children and youth, but no less important. When we are motivated to help others feel good, our own sense of well-being cannot help but be enhanced.

Every person is different, and has his/her own unique story, along with challenges they are currently facing. All my work seeks to understand and help a person based upon how well they are meeting each of these four basic needs.

What Will Therapy with Andrew be Like?

You can expect the following elements to be in place during each session:

Safety – Both physical and emotional safety will be present at all times. Andrew’s space is calming and relaxed, without unnecessary distractions from the outside world present. The voice of every person in the space will also be honoured through being fully heard and respected without interruption, judgment or correcting.

Respect – You will always be treated as I would hope to be treated: with kindness, sincerity, authenticity, and in a way that respects you as a unique individual. However, before anyone can truly respect others, they must be prepared to respect themselves first. Everyone in the space therefore has a responsibility to support respect, as well as being prepared to receive it.

Equality – Everyone, including me, is equal in the therapeutic space. In other words, nobody is any better or any worse than anyone else! I work to minimize any perceptions of being more wise or superior in any way to someone who enters the space.

Andrew’s Main Therapeutic Methods

I work largely from two therapeutic approaches; the first is Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy, a well-known and goal-oriented treatment method. Find out more about this method by clicking here.

The second is called Solution-Focused Therapy. This means that while our own past is full of valuable experiences and lessons, none of us are ever limited by what has gone before. We are shaped by our experiences, but defined by our choices now and in the future. Find out more about this method by clicking here.

This is a unique website which will require a more modern browser to work!